What about Our Forty Days

From Now to Easter

 Zephyr United Methodist Church

Early First United Methodist Church

February 25, 2007

Rev. Eddie Smart

Luke 4:1-13 (NIV)

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, ²where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

³The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

⁴Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'"

⁵The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

⁸Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

⁹The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you

to guard you carefully; ¹¹they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' "

¹²Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

¹³When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

Lent, that forty days of preparation for Easter brings to our minds these forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted and tested. This story of Jesus in the wilderness reminds us of Moses' forty days without food on Mount Sinai receiving the ten commandments. (Ex. 34:28, Deut. 9:9) We are reminded of Elijah's forty days fleeing to Mount Horeb (1Kings 19:4-8), and certainly the forty years Israel struggled in the wilderness.

Forty days-forty years with temptations, testing, fasting, fleeing, fear, frustration and faithfulness in these events. What about our Lent? What will Lent be like for you and me this year? Elijah met God during his forty days on that mountain. Where will we meet God during our forty days? Moses received the Law during his forty days on the mountain? What will we receive from God during our forty days? Israel was frustrated and God was frustrated with Israel during their forty years. How will we be frustrated with God and how will God be frustrated with us during our forty days?

³The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread." IF? The devil says, "If...you are the Son of God." Jesus has just been baptized in the river Jordan and the voice of God said, "This is my son!" Jesus knows he is the Son of God. The devil knows that Jesus is the Son of God, and yet the devil says, "If." What greater strength could Jesus have working for him than the be the Son of God? The devil goes right for the strength. The devil tempts Jesus to prove that he is the Son of God by turning a stone into bread.

⁴Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 8:3. That scripture comes from the narrative about the Israelites eating manna. They are told that God humbled them by letting them hunger and then feeding them manna, so that they might "understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord". Deut. 8:3 (NRSV) One commentary reminds us that "Israel's need for bread was secondary to Israel's need to understand that God gives bread. Jesus, because he understands that fact, can resist the temptation to take matters into his own hands" .

Jesus is tempted in these forty days just as the Israelites were tempted during their 40 years of wandering. They are both tempted not to trust God for sustenance. Jesus would have much to say in his ministry about trusting God. Jesus would teach us to pray, "give us this day our daily bread." Jesus would teach us to consider the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. If God cares for the birds, God will care for us. If God dresses the fields with lilies, God will dress us.

Just as Jesus was tempted, just as the Israelites were tempted, we are tempted not to trust God to meet our needs. During our forty days we might take the time to consider the ways that we fail to trust God. How often do we react first and pray second? How often do we rely on our own resources to provide? How often do we never begin a journey because it appears impossible? Do we understand that our need for bread is secondary to knowing that God gives bread?

⁵The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. ⁷So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Isn't it interesting that the devil would tempt Jesus with that which would belong to Jesus anyway. In Matthew 28, after the resurrection, Jesus says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me."

The second temptation tempts Jesus to worship the devil -- a false God -- to accomplish a good end (glory and authority) by evil means (worshiping the devil). Jesus has come for glory and authority, but he will obtain them by being lifted up on a cross -- not by kneeling before the evil one. His glory and authority comes from God, not Satan.

Jesus answered [again by quoting scripture], "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" (vs. 8) Jesus quotes from Deut. 6:13. The scripture also echos the first two of the ten commandments (You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.)

The Israelites in their forty years of wandering knew that temptation just as Jesus did in his forty days. At the very time that Moses was receiving the ten commandments, the Israelites were melding down their gold and molding it into a golden calf.

Jesus was tempted to worship the devil. The Israelites were tempted to worship a golden calf. During our forty days we might consider those things we choose to worship. What are the idols in our lives? What has a higher priority in our lives than God? During our forty days we can examine our check books and our calendars. What idols receive more of our time and money than our God? How are we being tempted like Jesus to achieve a "good end" by an "evil means."

⁹The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written: " 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; ¹¹they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' " After hearing Jesus quote scripture, the devil turns to the use of scripture to tempt Jesus. He quotes from Psalms 91, taking a Psalm that is about trusting God and turning it into a challenge to test God.

¹²Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" Again Jesus goes to the book of Deuteronomy and the Israelites. He refers to the time that the Israelites were quarreling with Moses about bringing them into the wilderness. Moses named the locations where the Israelites were whining, Massah, which means "test" and Meribah which means "quarrel" because it was there that the Israelites tested God.

During his forty days Jesus was tempted to test God. During their forty years the Israelites were tempted to test God. During our forty days let us look at how we are tempted to test God. There is a fine line between trusting God and testing God. To help us know the difference we can ask ourselves, "Are we doing this out of the desires of our heart or out of the desire of God's heart?" Are we seeking our will or God's will? Parents, are you ever tested by a child's willful disobedience? How do we put God to the test?

Most of us present today are familiar with the Sunbeam Bakeries. Do any of you remember the billboard advertizing they did quiet some years ago? During Christmas they placed scores of billboards that featured a small girl praying. The only words on the billboards were “Not by bread alone.” I feel like I have been recently bombarded by dieting. Weight Watchers, Atkins, and South Beach diets pop up everywhere I turn. We are encouraged to get our exercise. Much is said about our physical condition. We are not only physical beings, but as the Sunbeam ad implies, we are also spiritual beings. We need to be nourished both physically and spiritually. Lent is a time to fast on the physical and feast on the spiritual. During these forty days may we use these temptations of Jesus to focus our examination of our spiritual condition.